How to Play Unsun Karuta
Overview
Unsun Karuta is a traditional Japanese trick-taking card game originating from the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region.
This version plays the Hachinin Meri (Eight-Player Meri) variant with 8 players in two teams of 4.
Players & Teams
- 8 players, seated alternately by team
- Team A: Players 0, 2, 4, 6
- Team B: Players 1, 3, 5, 7
- Play proceeds counterclockwise
The Deck (75 cards)
5 suits, each with 15 ranks (1–9 pip cards + 6 court cards):
| Suit | Type | Color |
|---|
| パオ | Long | Green |
| イス | Long | Blue |
| コツ | Round | Red |
| オリ | Round | Gold |
| グル | Round | Purple |
Court cards: カバ(10), レイ(11), ロバイ(12), ソウタ(13), ウン(14), スン(15)
Trump & Okié
- After dealing 9 cards to each player (72 total), the 73rd card is placed face up as the Okié
- The Okié's suit becomes the trump suit for that deal
- テンカ: When trump ≠ パオ, パオのソウタ becomes テンカ and joins the trump suit
Robai
The player holding the trump suit's ロバイ has a choice:
- Take the Okié (ロバう): Pick up the Okié, then discard one card to return to 9
- Hidden Robai (隠しロバイ): Pass — the dealer takes the Okié and discards. All yakus are worth 5 points instead of 2 during this deal
Card Strength
Card rankings depend on whether a card is trump or non-trump, and whether its suit is long (パオ/イス) or round (コツ/オリ/グル).
Trump rankings (strongest → weakest):
- パオ trump: スン > ウン > ソウタ > ロバイ > レイ > カバ > 9 > 8 > … > 1
- イス trump: スン > ウン > ソウタ > テンカ > ロバイ > レイ > カバ > 9 > 8 > … > 1
- Round trump: スン > ウン > ソウタ > テンカ > ロバイ > レイ > カバ > 1 > 2 > … > 9
Non-trump rankings (strongest → weakest):
- パオ (ソウタ is absent — becomes テンカ): スン > ウン > レイ > カバ > ロバイ > 9 > 8 > … > 1
- イス: スン > ウン > レイ > カバ > ソウタ > 9 > 8 > … > 2 > ロバイ > 1
- Round: スン > ウン > レイ > カバ > ソウタ > ロバイ > 1 > 2 > … > 9
Game Flow
Each deal consists of 9 tricks. Phases can shift mid-deal:
Phase 1: Meiraf (Free Play)
- No follow obligation — play any card regardless of the led suit
- Trump cards played as followers go face-down (hidden from other players)
- First trick: Cannot lead with a trump card (unless all cards are trump)
Meri Declaration
When a player leads a trick with a trump card, they declare "Meri!"
On that trick, all players who have trump must play trump face-up.
Players without trump may play any card.
Phase 2: Monchi (Must Follow)
Starting from the next trick after Meri:
- If you have the led suit, you must play the led suit or trump
- If you are void in the led suit, you may play any card (no obligation to play trump)
- When trump is led, must play trump if you have any
- Trump cards played as followers go face-down (same as Meiraf)
Trick Resolution
- If any trump was played → highest trump wins
- Otherwise → highest card of the led suit wins
- Cards not matching the led suit or trump never win
Yaku (Bonus Points)
Yaku can only occur on tricks other than the Meri trick, when a trump-suit card is played face-down.
If an enemy player also played a trump-suit card face-down in the same trick and the following pairs match:
Court card yakus: スン > ウン, ウン > ソウタ, ソウタ > ロバイ, ロバイ > レイ
Pip yakus (depends on trump suit):
- Trump is long suit (パオ/イス): 2 beats 1
- Trump is round suit (コツ/オリ/グル): 8 beats 9
Points: 2 points normally, 5 points on the last trick or during hidden robai.
Invalidation: A yaku is void if all trump-suit cards ranked above the winner in the yaku chain have already been played in previous tricks.
Scoring
Each deal is scored as follows:
- The team with more tricks earns: trick difference + their yaku points
- The team with fewer tricks gets 0 (even if they scored yakus)
- If tricks are tied (unlikely at 9), neither team scores
The game lasts 8 deals. The team with the highest total score wins.